


Biotics & Handguns

by kristenthelia



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Multi, Multi Shepards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2017-12-04 20:42:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/714887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristenthelia/pseuds/kristenthelia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beginning with the Cerberus attack on the Citadel, a plot unfolds around the Illusive Man and Harbinger, a rouge Reaper left in the Milky Way. Two sisters, Commander Kimberly Shepard and soon-to-be Spectre Elizabeth Shepard are brought together on the Normandy to fight against this threat. (AU starting with the third game.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trouble on the Citadel

Elizabeth Shepard was beginning to realize that working on the Citadel wasn’t all it was advertised to be. Admittedly, she wasn’t looking for an exciting position and had specifically requested this job, but she didn’t think it would end up being so... _boring._ She swore she would take a field job next time, but Elizabeth knew that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t a combat person - that was made abundantly clear.

She sighed, placing her head in her hand. Thankfully, lunch would be coming soon and she would have an hour’s respite and possibly a chance to visit the hospital. To visit Thane. She smiled a little. Hopefully he was feeling more up to company today and the Kepral’s wasn’t too bad. She wondered briefly if she should pick something up for him.

She slumped back, thinking of all the possibilities for lunch and spinning slightly in her chair. She closed her eyes, feeling herself nod off a bit. What a model employee she was.

Elizabeth heard a light ping coming from her workstation. Peeking open an eye, she saw a message on the screen. Sitting up, she leaned forward to read it. _Communications with Citadel Security has been disconnected._

She raised an eyebrow. What were the C-Sec guys up to now? Was there some unplanned maintenance they were performing. She scoffed. That sounded like C-Sec to just start their maintenance without informing anyone. She was pretty sure they failed to inform the Alliance personnel on the station about anything to spite them. Elizabeth moved to close the message, figuring she’d just message Bailey later and find out what’s going on.

Glancing at the time, she stood and started gathering her things to take her lunch. _How lovely it would be to get out of this office_ , she thought, shuffling through the drawers looking her credit chit. _Now, where did I put it...?_

Suddenly, she heard a long bang and the sound glass shattering. Looking up, she saw fully armored troops moving through the corridor outside of her office, methodically searching through the various offices. Her eyes honed in on the large assault rifles in their hands.

Dropping to her knees, she hid behind her desk moving to pull her pistol from it’s bottom drawer. Checking to make sure it still had clips, she peaked around the side of the desk to see where the troops were. She noticed they were wearing black, gold, and white - Cerberus colors. _What in the hell are Cerberus troops doing on the Citadel?_

She stayed hidden, straining to hear what they were saying. “Find the girl, but don’t shoot! The Illusive Man said he wanted her alive!” She had never heard of Cerberus taking hostages. Normally they acted as a simple terrorist group - get in, cause some havoc, get out. Why suddenly change their tactics? Who was so important they would risk an attack on the Citadel?

Elizabeth didn’t really have time to ponder these questions. She was an Alliance soldier. That meant if they saw here, they would shoot first and ask questions later. She needed help. Peaking over the top of the desk, she moved to her terminal - but it wouldn’t turn on. Pressing buttons invoked no response. They had cut power and communications. She was alone.

 _Shit. Shit, shit, shit!_ This was not good. There was no telling how long she had before they would come storming into her office, but she knew she didn’t have much. She needed access to a terminal before her omni-tool could work, if anyone would even be on the other side to hear her.

But, the fact of the matter was she couldn’t stay here. Searching around, she saw the small grate that covered the duct system. While probably not the best plan, it was better than her current predicament. Shuffling over to the vent, she gently laid her pistol down and began to pry it open, attempting to make as little noise as possible. 

“Who are we looking for again?”

_Yes. Please keep talking. Don’t listen to me._

“Her last name’s Shepard. That’s all we know.”

 _Wait... Shepard?_ She paused.

“You mean like Commander Shepard?”

_If you’re looking for my sister, you’re in the wrong place. She pissed off the wrong people again and got grounded on Earth._

“No, not Commander Shepard. Her sister, the lesser known, less attractive one.”

Elizabeth froze in her tracks. They were looking for _her_? That’s really not good. She finally managed to pull the grate up and placed it off to the side. Moving as quietly as she could, she maneuvered herself into the duct, carefully drawing the gate above her. She moved into the shadows of the duct as she heard the footsteps of the soldiers draw closer.

Not wanting to stick around any longer than necessary, she began to crawl through the small duct. She had memorized a map of the Citadel when she had first been stationed here, though she doubted that would help her much while stuck in the air ducts. Summoning the image to her mind, she hoped her sense of direction could get her back to her apartments.

The crawl was long. She attempted to regain her bearings as she passed by open vents and orientate herself around familiar landmarks, but it could only so much. Why had she decided to get the apartments outside of the Alliance on the other side of the damn ship? She was fairly sure her elbows were bruised and her shoulders had gone numb. Still, she was thankful for her Alliance training, otherwise there was no way should could have pushed through the pain. She _had_ to contact someone. People were dying out there. And if C-Sec was down as she guessed, there was no one helping them. If she could do something, she would. Bruises heal.

Elizabeth came to a stop near a grate and strained to see through it. Realizing she was near her apartment, she concentrated on listening, straining to hear the sound of any approaching soldiers. She hoped they were dumb enough to stick to the more populated areas of the Citadel. Not hearing anything, she turned and kicked the grate out before sliding through herself. 

Feeling better to finally stand again, she brought her pistol up in a firing position. It was strange to be holding a gun again. Once, it’s weight felt familiar and comforting, but now it was a heavy object to hold. I guess that’s what getting a desk job gets you - out of work and out of practice.

Shaking these thoughts clear, she moved quickly across the silent corridor, stopping and taking cover to scan the area before moving on. She finally reached her building and pressed her hand against the pad outside of the door. She waited impatiently as she felt the warmed of the scanner move across her palm before a ding was heard. “Welcome home, Elizabeth Shepard. You have no new mail waiting for you.”

Flinging open the door, she broke out into a run for the elevator, frantically pressing the button for her floor. _Please, please hurry._ Once on her floor, she broke into a run again and entered her apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her.

Rushing to her private terminal, she almost cried when she saw it was still connected. Frantically, she dialed her sister. Kim Shepard was the only person should could think of, the only person she would want. As a commander in Alliance Marines, she was a confident fighter and as her older sister, she was a comforting voice.

She heard the ringing tone go on her a few second, all the while she’s silent praying for her sister answer. “Please pick up,” she murmured. “Don’t let this be the one time you decide that Garrus is more interesting than your little sis.”

Finally, she answered. “Lizzy, I didn’t expect a call from you until after your date with Thane.”

“Oh thank god. Kim, the Citadel’s been attacked, Cerberus is invading and I think they’re looking for me. C-Sec has been taken offline and I have no idea what’s going on. Please, come help us.” She started crying, the weight of the situation beginning to wear on her. “I can’t stay long, but you have to come. Please.”

* * *

 

“Read them and weep fuckers,” Kim said laying out a full house is all its glory. 

Garrus and James moaned and threw their cards down. Both had highly disgruntled looks on their faces as she collected a random assortment of Earth currency and Credits.

“I keep telling ya, you can’t beat Commander Shepard.” 

“Which is why you're still the Commander of the Normandy, oh thats right.” Kim shot a look at Garrus as he crossed his arms and sat back. This was his way of signally that he had successful one-uped her.

“Hey I am still the Commander of the Normandy. They just took my ship as a precaution against me running off.”

“And gave it to Kaidan.”

“Kaidan is just borrowing it. Once I am reinstated, everything will go back to the way it was.”

“Ah yes, being shot at on a daily basis. Good times.”

“You two done?” James interrupted, “because I’d like to win that cash back.”

“Deal them out then.”

Kim watched as James took the cards and shuffled them. He was technically her guard. Not so much for her protection as protecting her from everyone else. He was also there to make sure she didn’t run off. The Citadel counsel and Alliance Military had it is their heads that she was a flight risk. She couldn’t fully blame them. She had “disappeared” for two years only to turn up working with Cerberus. Granted she didn’t want to and if it hadn’t been for the collectors she probably would have just said fuck off the moment she woke up. However it wasn’t that easy. Things were never that easy. It was hard to explain that she had died with the Normandy SR1 was attracted and then resurrected. She was still frustrated. She hated being grounded and she hated it more that they revoked her Spectre status.

“Kim?” A gruff voice broke her from her thoughts. She looked to see Garrus giving her a concerned look. When she realized she had been staring at her cards for far too long she felt a bit like a fool. 

“Sorry guys,” she said as she grabbed a few Credits and threw them into the pool.

The poker game continued. It was a few games in and a couple of bitter loses when Kim heard her terminal  ringing. She had been expecting her sister Elizabeth to call but not till much later. Kim placed her cards on the table and made her way back to her room. She took a seat in front of the terminal before answering her call. The screen popped up and her sister face appeared on the screen. She was used to seeing her sister a bit frazzled but today she seemed an extra bit frazzled.

“Lizzy I didn’t expect a call from you till after your date with Thane.” 

“Oh thank god. Kim, the Citadel’s been attacked, Cerberus is invading and I think they’re looking for me. C-Sec has been taken offline and I have no idea what’s going on. Please, come help us. I can’t stay long, but you have to come. Please.”

Kim watched as her sister frantically spat out the words and began to cry.

“Alight Elizabeth listen to me. I will be there don’t you worry about that. What you need to worry about is getting to a safe location and if you can get armed. Remember your biotic training. Stay of the terminals. You can be tracked that way.” The words were meant to be comforting but instead they were more like orders. Kim hung up on her sister fearing she had already been tracked through her terminal.

Kim took a moment to compose herself. She could handle anything Cerberus threw at her, which included on many cases explosives, but having her sister put in the line of danger. This was something new altogether. She grabbed the pistol she kept in her night stand in case she was unable to get to any of her other weapons and headed out to her living room. Garrus and James turned to her, with visible worry on their face. They had probably heard the distress and crying. This worry was only amplified when they noticed the side arm holstered to her thigh.

“Where’s Kaidan.”

Both Garrus and James stood, arms in a defensive state showing they meant no harm. 

“Lola what’s going on.” James slowly moved between her and the door.

“Vega let me through.” Her voice was firm but neutral. She liked James a great deal and really did not want to hurt him for this.

“Not till you tell me what’s going on.”

Kim weighed her options. She could either attempt to knock James out, a man twice her size and a foot taller than her or she could tell him and hope for the best. She decided on the later as the former would take quite a bit of energy.

“The Citadel is under attack and my sister is in danger. You can either get out of my way or Garrus, if he want, and I will be forced to take you down.”

She heard Garrus over her shoulder, “Oh I’m in.” 

She watched as James thought for a moment before he spoke. “I’ll do you one better Lola.” She gave him a confused look as he moved out of the way and extended his hand towards the door. “Lead the way.”

Kim gave him a smile. It was good to know James already had her back.

Her Garrus and James walked down the hall quietly. She knew that the Alliance had more than just James keeping an eye on her. Once outside the building they ran to James hover car.

“Waits the plan?” Garrus asked as if he already knew Kim had cooked something up. A sigh of working together for far too long and way too many weird ass missions.

“Find Kaidan. Talk him into using his Spectre id as a way to me onto the Normandy. Make it look like a visit to Joker.”

“Kaidan should not be far from the Normandy. We were supposed to head out after my visit with you anyways. 

“He is probably at Electra’s. Its a small bar just on the other side of the docking bay. You know where that is James?”

James laughed at that “Lola I keep that place in business.” 

Kim chuckled as she brought up her omnitool. She needed to contact Joker so that he could go ahead and prep the Normandy for takeoff, with or without Kaidan. Her and Kaidan hadn’t left off on the best of terms but when if came down to this. To family. She hoped Kaidan would understand. She hoped he could trust her this one last time. She thought this as she typed in a message to Joker. She knew he would go along with it no problem. She could always count on him. As the car pulled up to the bar she ordered James and Garrus to stay behind just in case she needed to make a run from the Alliance. She hated this. She was Alliance. It was what she knew best and yet here she was again defying orders.

Walking into the bar she searched around for Kaidan. She found him sitting in a both with a couple other Alliance brass. Getting him alone wouldn’t be too hard. She put on her best happy to see you smile, which wasn’t technically a lie, it was just not under the best of circumstances. Kaidan had seen her approaching not soon after she entered the bar and had already excused the men for his table. Kim took a seat opposite of Kaidan trying to figure out the best way to phrase what she was about to ask.

“Kim, didn’t expect to see you.” Kaidan said.

“Kaidan, I am going to be straight with you. I need your help.” Kim sighed, _please Kaidan let everything we did to stop Saren reminded you that I am not a bad person._ “My sister and the Citadel are in trouble.”

Kaidan straightened up from his relaxed demeanor. “What do you mean?”

“I received a distressed call from my sister a few minutes ago. She said that Cerberus was there looking for her. She thinks they have overwhelmed C-Sec.”

Kaidan was quiet for a moment. It seemed to be chewing over the information Kim had given him. Before he could answer Kim went ahead and interjected.

“Kaidan, this is my sister. I would not be asking if it wasn’t something serious. Also I would greatly appreciate if I could go along.” The last part was said as a bit of an aside.

“I figured as much. Let me guess, you're wanting to use my Spectre status to get you on the Normandy.”

“You know, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“And I am sure Joker is already well aware of this plan.”

“Quite possibly yea.”

“Kim, you are the worst influence on the planet.” Kaidan said as he paid his tab and stood.

“Aww no, I am the best influence.” She said wrapping her arm around his shoulders. “I swear Kaidan this Spectre thing is wasted on you. 

If was not long before the four of them were on the Normandy. Kim was pleased to see that her gear was still in her locker. Being back in her armor felt so right, and having her sniper rifle, all the better. Once she was in her gear she made her way down to the hold where she was greeted by a new face. 

“Shepard, this is Cortez, the new shuttle pilot.” Kaidan introduced her to the man.

“We have a shuttle pilot now? What happened to the Mako.”

“For the betterment of humanity and the crew Alliance retired it.” Garrus said as he exited the elevator.

“Aww I like the Mako,” Kim said with a wink and a smile, “anyways. How good are you Cortez?”

“Pretty good Commander, I used to fly fighters for the Alliance military.”

“Perfect. Joker,” she said into the ear piece, “the landing bays are probably down. Get us close enough so the Cortez here can bring us in by shuttle then both of you get out of dodge. I will radio you if we need a pickup.”

* * *

 

Elizabeth hung up on her sister, attempting to collect herself. It would do no good to dissolve into tears. Besides, sitting in one place too long wasn’t a smart idea when an entire terrorist network was looking for her.

Wiping at her face with her shirtsleeve, she took some deep breaths before turning back to the terminal. She had to contact Thane, make sure he was safe. There was no way of knowing if Cerberus had attacked the hospital yet. At least she could hear his voice - that would be reassuring.

She continued to clean her face as she listened to the ringing tone. After several long moments, he finally picked up. “Siha? What are you doing on the terminals?”

“Thane,” she sighed, relief lacing her voice. “You’re alright. Where are you?”

“Still in the hospital,” he answered shortly. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Cerberus is on the station and...” she paused for a moment. “I think they’re looking for me. I needed to call for help. I’m fairly certain C-Sec is down. I think they landed there and then spread.”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’ve seen the Cerberus troops. They swept through the hospital not too long ago. I managed to escape before they found me. Siha, you must move to a safe location. If they are indeed looking for you, staying in your apartments is not the best idea.”

“Where will I go?” she asked, frustration creeping into her voice. “If Cerberus is attacking the Citadel, nowhere is safe. I will not sit by and hide while others are dying.” She paused for a moment and they were both silent. “I’m planning to make my way to the docking bay, near C-Sec. Someone has to override the landing codes when my sister arrives.”

“Then I will meet you there,” he said. “Try to stay out of sight and only shoot when necessary. The noise will draw attention. Be safe, Siha." 

And with that, the line closed. She closed her eyes again, measuring her breathing. She could give herself this one minute to breathe, to _think_ , to just be, before heading out into the warzone. The one place she was never meant to be, the one place she never wanted to be. She could deal with red tape and irritable politicians and irate commanders. But war was not her specialty. Funny, how it worked out like that.

Opening her eyes, she refocused her attentions. Grabbing her pistol once more, she stood and marched towards the door. She may not be a soldier, but she would be damned if she didn’t fight back.

* * *

 

Getting to the docking bay was harder than she thought it would be. Cerberus was seemingly everywhere. She tried to avoid conflict when she could, but there were some cases when she couldn’t get around them. Thankfully she had encountered little fighting between her home and C-Sec. But, they seemed to have held a concentration of forces near C-Sec, probably in order to hold it. Turns out Cerberus wasn’t as stupid as she thought.

She had taken cover behind one of many armored crates that littered the area, listening as gunfire rained around her. She waited for a break in the fire, before peaking around the crates and releasing a Singularity near the great concentration of troops. She ducked again, listening to their shouts of surprise as they pulled towards the sphere.

Leaning around again, she sent a Warp field towards the cluster cause it to explode and sending quite a few troops flying. Steadying her arm on top of one of the crates, she fired at the remaining standing troops. She could feel herself rapidly getting tired and a headache creeping up her neck. She wasn’t used to combat, and neither were her biotics.

Finally managing to get the last man down, she rushed forward past the bodies not wanting to think about the men she had killed. She would have to come to terms with that later.

Rushing through a door, she stopped and attempted to catch her breath. If she got out of this alive, she promised she would stay active in her training from now on. Her hair had fallen into her face from it’s bun at the nape of her neck and she roughly pushed it out of the way, wiping sweat along with it. 

Raising her pistol again, she continued her approach through the security terminals. Scanning the area as she went, she hoped she would reach the platform soon. She inched to a corner, cautiously peering around it, before moving into the next room.

As she inched closer and closer, she could feel the tension in her shoulders build. She was so close, she couldn’t mess this up now. As she moved forward, she could hear the men in the next room. Steeling herself, she glanced around the corner to gain her bearings.

Several were scattered throughout the room, others stood clustered at the console. None of them were on the lookout for enemies. _Good_ , she thought. _That’ll make this stupid idea a lot easier._  

She paused a moment, trying to push away the pain and heat of her amp, the soreness in her arms and legs, the fear in her gut. Turning swiftly, she clenched her fist together gathering the last vestiges of her biotics. 

“Hey! Assholes!” She called out, with much more bravado than she felt. “Looking for me?” 

They suddenly snapped their attention to her, turning their bodies towards her Shockwave. She watched as it hit the troops and sent them flying in all directions away from the console. Pushing herself into a run, Elizabeth rushed to the terminal, sliding into a hiding position behind it. 

Quickly opening her Omnitool, she began her rewrite of the code, listening as shots ricocheted off the metal protecting her. Working frantically, she prayed they would come soon. She knew she couldn’t hold them by herself. Punching a few lines into her omnitool, she hoped Kim would receive her message. “Come to D5. Landing codes are being rewritten as we speak. Bring back up.”

* * *

 

“Alright listen up I am taking Vega, Vakarian, and Alenko with me. Primarily in case we have to split up. My main goal will be Elizabeth. Keep an eye out for her. She and I are about the same height, she has the same brown hair as mine, though her is longer.”

“Shepard, does she have any protection?” Kaidan interrupted.

“Lizzy is a biotic. I hope she has kept up her training. She also has Thane.” Kim was so thankful that Thane was there. If anything his chivalrousness would be enough protection for both of them. 

“Everyone grab a last bit of gear and pile…Vega are those grenades?”

“Yeah.” James said as he strapped a couple to his belt.

“No grenades. We are fighting in the Citadel, not an open combat field.”

“Aww, but Commander.”

“Don’t “aww but Commander” me. Let’s hurry it up.”

Joker brought the Normandy in just close enough that they could see the Landing bay. The dock doors open and Cortez brought the Shuttle out allowing for the Normandy to retreat to a safe distance. Kim was immediately impressed by Cortez’s skills with the shuttle. He was definitely staying. That is, if this stunt didn’t get her permanently discharged.

“What will we do once we have found your sister?” Garrus asked as he adjusted the sight on his rifle.

“Alenko will be staying behind with her. His biotics are enough to keep any Cerberus at bay while you, Vega and I will make our way to C-Sec to see if we can find Bailey. I hope that son of a bitch is alright.” 

“Hey Commander?”

“What is it Cortez.”

“There is this small woman fighting her way through Cerberus troops on the landing bay.”

“What?” Kim rushed to the front of the shuttle and sure enough there was Elizabeth" 

“She doing a pretty good job.” Cortez said as he began a descent.

“Shit she didn’t realize we had a shuttle. She thought we were gonna try and dock the Normandy.” Kim turned around, her heart pumping. “Cortez bring us in.” 

Cortez turned the shuttle to the side while Vega opened the door allowing for the four of them to jump onto the landing bay. Kim led the men as they crouched and pushed forward. Out of one corner of her eye she could see the distinctive biotic glow of Kaidan barrier. Oh the other Garrus had his sniper prime and loaded. Vega was just out of her sight. Although she couldn’t help but imagine he had a shotgun. She was sporting her pistol with a shotgun resting on her lower back and her sniper across her shoulder. 

They were just barely in the docking bay when her omnitool went off with a message. It was from Elizabeth. Maker bless she was still alive. Kim read the message hastily before announcing they were heading to D5. Cortez had dropped them off at D1. Kim gave the order for them to move. 

She could hear the gunfire as they approached the dock but had not encountered any of Cerberus’s men. This was very concerning. She finally spotted men as the approached D4. She could seem them just on the other side. About a dozen firing rapidly at a terminal.

She gave the order for them to take cover.

“Vakarian, I want you to set up here. Alenko, Vega and I will push forward, while we do that I need you to keep an eye out and radio if anything changes. I hope your still a good shot.”

“I am always a good shot,” Garrus said matter of factly.

Kim rolled her eyes before pushing forward with James and Kaidan. They were lucking that the men had their backs turned to them. This was gonna make this all too easy. Almost as if they had planned it Garrus heat shot one of the troops while Kaidan sent an overload at on of the more heavily armored men.  James had already reinforced his armor before letting a spray from his shotgun. It rip though one of the men leaving a carnage of blood and guts across the floor. Kim moved forward pistol firing rapidly tearing down shields which allowed Garrus to head shot them. 

The dock was chaos as blue energy moved around them and blood splattered everywhere. The sound of weapons made it almost deafening as it echo off the walls. It made it impossible to communicate. Kim could hear roughly from Garrus that they were, for the most part, almost done.

Both Kaidan and James gave the all clear as a combination of biotics and force took down the last man. Garrus was already making his way to the small L-shaped terminal that Kim was not kneeling behind. Elizabeth was there, hands covering her head. Kim laid a careful armored hand on her sister's shoulder. The last thing she needed was to be biotics knocked of the docking bay.

“Lizzy, we are here. You're gonna be fine.”

“Oh I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Came an unfamiliar voice.

* * *

 

She had never felt so tired in her life. She peered up at her sister, still huddled on the floor, watching her shoot Cerberus troops. She normally gave Kim a lot of shit for not following orders, but just this once, she’d let it slide.

Elizabeth, slumped against the terminal wall as she heard her sister speak. She wasn’t going to die today. “Lizzy, we’re here. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” It was an unfamiliar voice, floating around the room ominously. 

“And who the fuck are you?” Kim asked the air, brandishing her pistol around. She saw her teammates do the same.

“A thief in the night,” the voice continued, coming from everywhere and nowhere. “To come and take your sister.” Elizabeth turned, peaking around the corner of the metal to see a figure suddenly reveal itself from the shadows. She gasped audibly, drawing the attention of the others.

“Well isn’t that poetic,” she heard Garrus say from behind her.

“I don’t care how poetic it is,” her sister responded. “You’re not here to steal my sister. I’ll see you burn in hell first.” She suddenly started firing again. Elizabeth saw him smirk before disappearing back into the dark.

“Circle!” Kim called, and her team quickly moved to surround Elizabeth. She moved back to her position from before, her back pressed against the terminal. She looked up at the faces surrounding her, all acutely aware of their surroundings.

Elizabeth turned, attempting to peak over the top of the desk when she felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her back into cover. Looking up, she saw the very large man with the tattoos look down at her shaking his head. “Better stay down, Lolita.” Figuring it was best to comply with his wishes, she sank back down again. 

There were a few tense moments before she heard the soft sound of him reappearing. “Damn it!” Garrus shouted from behind her and she heard the sound of a concussive round. It detonated along the wall.

“Where the hell is this guy?” Kim asked in frustration, her hands turning white on her pistol.

“Over here!” the man reappeared again, this time brandishing a sword.

“Yes, that was made abundantly clear.” Her heart leaped into her throat. _Thane._ She had almost forgotten he had said he would meet her here. Before she could stop herself, she sprung up from her hiding place, catching a brief glimpse of green before shots started firing again. 

Ducking once more, she could’ve sworn she heard the man in front of her yell, “What’s with all the ninjas!?”

“About goddamn time, Krios!” her sister yelled. “Where the hell have you been?”

Either Thane didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her comments. Peering through the legs surrounding her, Elizabeth watched as Thane continued to fire at the man before he holstered the weapon, moving seamlessly into hand-to-hand combat. He began firing again, only for the assassin to disappear from sight.

Everything paused for a moment. She watched as Thane’s eyes scanned the room intently. This was something she would have thought him capable of. Her Thane was gentle and loving. This was something completely different - he was killer and he was good at it.

Suddenly, the man appeared again and Thane was immediately firing. The strange Cerberus operative dodged the bullets easily enough, turning and rushing at Thane, blade drawn. Quickly disabling him in hand-to-hand, Thane released a Throw, tossing the Cerberus agent back a few feet, giving him enough time to grab his pistol once more.

Next to her, Kim with her pistol out tried to line up a shot on the mysterious man. It was no use. Both the man and Thane were moving around too quickly for her to track. If she shot she risked the chance of hitting Thane instead of her desired target.

The man jumped back to feet, bearing his teeth. Thane reloaded his pistol before charging and firing. The man did the same, wielding his blade. But suddenly there was a groan and the sound of knife moving through flesh. Her heart, which had been sitting in her throat, dropped to the pit of her stomach as she watched a blade appear through Thane’s back. Her hand reached out and a choked “ _Thane_ ” left her.

Her sister was able to react more quickly than her, taking off after the man, who had quickly retrieved his weapon but not before a smirk appeared. Elizabeth struggled to stand, grasping onto the edge of the terminal desk for support. Stumbling forward, she broke into a run before falling onto the ground next to Thane.

“Thane.” She was crying. _When had that started?_ she wondered, reaching toward him, wanting to help, but not knowing how.

“Siha,” he murmured. “I am fine.” He attempted to shift a bit, wincing in the process. He looked up at her face, still horrified at the turn of events and shiny with tears. His hand reached towards her face, brushing away a stray tear. “Please don’t cry.”

“Like hell you’re fine!” her voice was shrill, but she didn’t really care. Moving to look at the wound, she felt her hands become covered in a warm, wet substance. _Blood._ “Please, just let me look at you. I need to stop the bleeding. I need medi-gel!” She called out to the room hoping the others could hear her. 

“Siha,” he said before coughing a bit. “Calm yourself. I will alright.” She nodded a bit, struggling to keep back tears. 

Before she could say anything else, Kim reappeared, a dark look on her face. “The bastard got away.” She stalked back over to them, fumbling around her armor, before she pulled out Medi Gel. “Move, Lizzy.” It was a command, and Elizabeth didn’t really know what else to do. So she moved, but grasped on to Thane’s hand, wanting some sort of connection to him, to know he was okay.

“We need to get him to the hospital, now,” Kim was up and issuing orders that Elizabeth could barely hear. 

How was that it was only this morning everything was fine? She didn’t know. Perhaps nothing was ever fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: We have written this in the early hours of the morning. Please do not hesitate to correct any spelling or grammatical errors. Trust me, we don't want them there either.


	2. The New Beginning

Fuck, she thought, this can’t be happening. She looked down at her sister who was sitting, holding Thane’s hand. Kim never wanted this for her. Kim never wanted Elizabeth to experience the pain of war, again, and she sure as hell never wanted her sister to see a comrade, or in her sister’s case a lover, fall in the bouts of battle. Kim wanted to comfort her sister but now was not the time. Now she had to act. They still needed to get to Bailey.

 

“Cortez I need you to bring the shuttle back for a pick up.” Kim ordered into the radio.

 

“Aye aye Commander.”

 

“Alenko,” Kim yelled out as she turned on her heels.

 

“Yes, Commander. “

 

“Take Thane and Lizzy to Huerta. I have called Cortez already so the shuttle should be here soon and Kaidan,” she lowered her voice as she said his name. Grabbing on to one of his shoulders she leaned in to whisper, “She has never seen war, and Thane, well she and Thane are together. Keep her company, she will need a friendly.”

 

Kim separated from Kaidan and moved to where Garrus and James were now standing. She gave them a quick rundown of what was to transpire before she gave to order to move forward. C-Sec was not far from the Landing Bay, which was lucky from them. They only had to fight through a hand full of Cerberus troops before arriving at the Door to C-Sec. It was a good thing most Cerberus troops were either incredibly stupid or overly arrogant.

 

Upon arriving at C-Sec Kim stomach dropped. The door was locked and blood splattered the walls. She could see a couple dead Turians as the approached the door. It appeared that they were trying to get the doors open but were gunned down. Kim eyes quickly went to Garrus. Some of these men were his buddies. This, this wasn’t going to be good.

 

Moving to the door Kim inspected it more closely. While she did that Garrus and James took to standing point.

 

“What can you tell Shepard.” Garrus asked over his shoulder.

 

“It is either jammed or someone has shut down the controls.” Touching the com device in her ear she contacted the Normandy, “EDI.”

 

“Yes Commander.”  Said the familiar robotic voice that she had grown to love.

 

“I need you to hack into the Citadel grid and get this door open.”

 

“Of course commander just give me a moment.”

 

“Uh, I don’t think we have a moment.” James interjected.

 

Kim had heard it coming in the distance. It was a sound they knew all too well. It was only a moment later that the ATLAS rounded the corner. She turned just in time to see it take aim at the three of them. James dove to the left, and Garrus and Kim to the right. Taking cover behind metal barriers use to filter lines Garrus and Kim prepared their concussive shots while James began to send shotgun blast after shotgun blast to weaken the ATLAS’s armor.

 

“Careful of your shields Vega.” Kim yelled into the radio

 

“Aye aye commander.”

 

She turned to Garrus and gave him a nod signally that her shot was ready and Garrus gave her the nod in return. Turning on key they both aimed their rifles at the face panel of the ALTAS and let the rounds loose. Both shots hit the reinforced glass causing it the fracture but not break. Ducking back down they prepared for another shot, but it would take a few minutes for the weapon to charge up again. In the meantime the ATLAS sent rockets and bullets without end at them. Kim looked over to see how James was doing. So far he was still standing, thanks mostly in part to his reinforced armor, but it would be long before his shields were eaten away.

 

“Vega calm you fire, Garrus take heat and cover me.”

 

Garrus nodded as he put down his snipe and pulled out his assault rifle. This time he began to barrage the ATLAS with relentless gun fire. Kim took this time to move for her side over James. She did not get to the other side completely unscathed at a few stray shot got her in her shields. Once she reached James, Kim checked her shields, fifty percent. Not great but still workable.

 

“Vega.”

 

“Yea commander?”

 

“Remember those grenades I told you not to bring.”

 

“Maybe.” James said in a slightly guilty voice.

 

“Well why don’t hand me one of those maybe grenades and we’ll lob them at the face plate.”

 

James gave her a smile before handing her one of his grenades. They both pulled the pin and held them for a second. They needed to time it just right so that they exploded right in the face of the ATLAS. Once a moment had passed, James and Kim threw the grenades at the ATLAS. As they hit the faceplate of the machine, the grenades blew, widening the fracture.

 

“Now Garrus.” Kim ordered into the radio as she primed her sniper. Both soldiers fired of the shots putting the final stress on the plate causing it to break. As soon as it shattered Garrus took aim with his sniper and blew the head clean off to man driving the ATLAS causing it to stop in its tracks.

 

“Commander.”

 

Kim sighed, “Yes EDI?”

 

“I have successively unlocked the door to the main C-Sec office.”

 

“Thank you EDI.”

 

Kim stood and winced slightly. It had been a while since she had seen combat and she was starting to feel it take a toll on her body. She and James walked over to Garrus who was currently working on getting the door open. It was unlocked but something was blocking it from being opened. It would have to be pried open. While Garrus and James worked on wiggling their fingers into the crack to pull it apart Kim looked for something to add leverage. She found a thick piece of metal, probably from the destruction the ATLAS had caused. Running back to them Kim placed the bar in the slot the men had managed to make. Placing her force on the bar, along with the pull of James and Garrus, they were eventually able to get a slot open large enough for the three of them to squeeze through.

 

None of them were prepared for what lie on the other side, least of all Garrus. It was sheer carnage. C-Sec operatives lay scattered across the floor. It looks as if Cerberus came through and systematically killed them. Kim heard Garrus breath a no as he ran towards the first body scanning him with his omnitool. He moved on to a few more doing the scanning and checking for vitals James began to do the same. If there were survivors they needed to be found.

 

Kim approached Garrus. He crouched in front of a young human male, couldn’t have been older than 23. Garrus’s eyes were closed, almost as if he was saying a small prayer for the boy. Kim crouched next to him, silently waiting for him to talk. She knew he needed a moment, she just didn’t know how much time they would have to spare.

 

“His name is Caleb,” Garrus mumbled, his voice was low and full of sadness. “I trained him. Smart lad, full of spirit but a little on the slow side. He has a wife her on the Citadel. They are expecting their first child.”

 

Kim rested her hand on Garrus’s shoulder. “We will make him pay for this.”

 

Garrus smirked before rising. “Damn right we will.”

 

Kim stood along with him. The Illusive man didn’t know it, but hellfire was going to rain down on him in the name of Shepard for he had successfully pissed of two of them.

 

“EDI.”

 

“Yes Shepard.”

 

“I need you to scan C-Sec for life. Anything. The faintest heart beat. If there is an electrical pulse you let me know.”

 

“Right away commander.”

 

While EDI scanned Kim moved to the terminal. She needed to see what was going on before the attack. Garrus and James came up on either side of her and watched as she scrolled through the terminal.

 

“Ah,” she heard Garrus exclaim, “they attacked during a shift change. There could still be a good portion of C-Sec officers still alive.”

 

“If that is true where are they.” James responded.

 

“Either pinned down by fire or locked in a room is my guess.” Kim interjected, “Cerberus was thorough. If they couldn’t kill them, then they would prevent them from interfering.”

 

Kim hoped they were just locked away somewhere. The last thing she needed was to find more officers dead. Bailey kept creeping in her mind. She couldn’t loose him. He was not just her ally, she was a good friend and she didn’t need anymore of her good friend injured of dead.

 

“Commander.”

 

“Yes, EDI.”

 

“I have found a large cluster of heat signatures just south of your locations. The floor plan says it is the holding cells.”

 

“Awesome, let’s head there first. Garrus lead the way.”

 

“Commander, there is also a large presence of heat just outside the holding cells. One could conclude that this is Cerberus.”

 

“Good.” Garrus said in a low growl. This was going to be interesting.

 

“Thanks EDI.”

 

James and Kim followed Garrus as he lead them to the holding cells. As they approached they could hear laughter. Kim assumed it was Cerberus troops as the laughter was muffled due to possible helmets.

 

“The cells are just around this corner,” Garrus whispered.

 

With that Kim took charge of the group and lead them to the wall. She inched as close as she could to the edge and listened. She could hear the sound of armored feel shuffling about, as if they were pacing. She estimated about a half dozen men. If they were luck they would not be paying attention. Kim peered around the corner. She could see at least seven men, sitting, and standing around. Good they had the upper hand. She pointed at James and then to the corner opposite her. James nodded then quickly ran to the other side. Kim ready her pistol while Garrus closed in behind her and James waited for her order. When she saw they were all ready she stepped out and kneeled in front of the hall way as James and Garrus flanked her. Four of Cerberus troops were down before they were truly about able to act. Kim took a few shots to her shield before she ordered them to fall back.

 

“Looks to be three left.” Garrus said as he reloaded.

 

“Do you think you can get one?”

 

Garrus nodded before stepping out again into the barrage of fire. James and Kim peered around the corner and fired as Garrus took a second to find his target, aim and take his head clean off. Once the shot let out the three fell back again.

 

“Shield update.”

 

“Forty percent,” came James.

 

“Fifty,” from Garrus.

 

Her own shields were at a measly thirty percent.

 

“Alright boys let’s give it our all.”

 

With that all three of them stepped out into the hallway and fired. As the fired they moved forward. They did take shots to their shields but the remaining Cerberus troops were taken down before they could tear through the shields. Once they were sure all the troops Kim turned her attention to the door of the cells.

 

“EDI let’s get this door open.”

 

\---

 

She sat in the waiting room of Huerta staring at her hands. She heard the once soothing sounds of the hospital around her, now turned into terror itself. Huerta had never been a particularly scary place for her. Even when Thane had check himself in permanently, a sign of his illness rapidly progressing, she hadn’t felt the black dread that was currently churning her stomach.

 

Thane was dying. Even though no one had said it aloud, it was an understood statement. From the worried look on the doctor’s face when he was brought in, and then their request to Kolyat donate blood, things were serious. She glanced over at Kolyat, wondering if she should offer him some sort of comfort. Not that she would be the best to offer it, she supposed. Considering he was trying to save and all.

 

Turning her focus back to the doors, she felt her thoughts drawing inward again when an energy bar invaded her vision. Refocusing her vision, she glanced up to see the soldier Kim had ordered to stay behind and help her and Thane. What was his name again?

 

“Eat it,” he said, shaking it slightly. “It’ll help you feel better.” She continued to stare up at him before begrudgingly taking it from his hand. No doubt Kim had barked at him to make sure he looked after her. Elizabeth stared at the bar in her lap, playing with the edges of the wrapper.

 

“You know,” the man spoke up again. “You can’t eat it if you don’t open it.” He moved and sat down across from her, continuing to stare. “And, before you ask, I’m not leaving until you eat.”

 

“He’s right,” Kolyat spoke up. “You should eat something.”

 

“You’re one to talk,” she grumbled, opening the the bar.

 

“I was not fighting hundreds of Cerberus agents,” he answered.

 

“There wasn’t _hundreds_ of them,” Elizabeth scoffed.

 

“But you did fight off several dozen men, by yourself, with little training.” He was speaking again. “Now, stop stalling and eat.”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. Lifting the bar, she took a large bite out of it and chewed it a bit. “Happy?” she said around the food. At least he had the decency to get her something chocolate flavored. He just smiled in response to her mannerless question. If she had more energy, she would’ve punched him.

 

She kept petulantly chewing on the bar, realizing for the first time how hungry she was. Upon finishing it, she stood and walked over the waste disposal, dropping the wrapper within. Slumping back down into her chair next to Kolyat.

 

“Do I get a gold star now?” she asked.

 

“Only if you really want one.” She glared at him again.

 

There was silence for a moment before Kolyat spoke up. “I didn’t catch your name, sir.”

 

“Oh, my apologies. Kaidan Alenko.”

 

“Thank you, Kaidan Alenko,” Kolyat said, nodding his head. “For bringing my father back.”

 

Looked sheepish for a moment. “Just doing my job” he responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

They sat in silence again. Despite her annoyance, she welcomed the reprieve from her thoughts. It was nice to feel somewhat normal again, not like her world was crashing around her. She sighed, feeling the dread returning. Turning her head to look out the window, she watched as the skycars flew by.

 

She willed herself not to cry. Again. Crying would do nothing but make her feel ill. She sniffed loudly and she hoped the others wouldn’t noticed. She tried to surreptitiously wipe her face. Why did she always cry so easily?

 

As she was wiping her eyes and second time, she felt someone take her hand. Turning, she felt Kolyat gently lace his fingers between hers and squeeze comfortingly. She smiled a watery smile at him and squeezed back.

 

Kolyat. She felt dumb having him comfort her. Here was his father dying and he was trying to make _her_ feel better. It was hard not to love him as much as his father did. He was good and kind. Perhaps a little lost sometimes, but he tried. There was so much of his father in him.

 

Elizabeth leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. She and Kolyat had never talked much. Thane had wanted to build up his relationship independently of her and she could respect that. They had a lot of lost time to make up for. And now that time was slipping away.

 

They heard the swooshing sound of the door opening and both of them turned their heads to see a doctor heading their way. The look on his face wasn’t promising. They moved to stand as he approached, anxious looks on their faces and hands still grasped.

 

“I’m sorry,” the doctor started. “But there wasn’t much we could do. His Kepral’s has advanced too far.”

 

Elizabeth felt her face fall and the black dread in the stomach grow. She took a deep breath.

 

The doctor turned his attention Kolyat. “He has asked to speak with you.” Kolyat nodded. He turned to her and squeezed her hand again before following the doctor out of the waiting room.

 

She watched as he walked away before turning to sit back in her seat. Kaidan was still there, watching her with sad eyes. She tried to ignore him.

 

Pulling a strand of hair over her shoulder, she began twirling it in an attempt to keep her hands busy. _She would not cry, she would not cry, she would NOT cry._

 

She was apparently unsuccessful as she saw a tissue being offered to her. She grasped it and brought it to her eyes. “Thank you.”

 

“Don’t mention it,” Kaidan responded, moving to sit across from her again. “There is no shame in crying, you know.”

 

She decided not to answer.

 

Time seemed to stretch out, each moment lasting far longer than it should have. She was not ready for this. She could not watch him die. But what else was there? What else could you to stop death? Her sister had died, but here she was, miraculously back. But miracles only happened once in a lifetime. Death could only be escaped so many times before he reappeared.

 

Elizabeth’s heart had not felt so heavy in a long time. She continued to dab at her face, staring at nothing. She wondered briefly how Kolyat was.

 

Her attention was drawn away from her thoughts when she heard a voice cut through. “Miss Shepard?” She turned to see one of the nurses beckoning her. “Mister Krios would like to speak with you.” She nodded and stood, moving to follow her down the hallway.

 

For time to have been so slow mere moments ago, they were now moving surprisingly fast. She had expected this drag on forever, but now it was moving too fast. She felt ill. Within moments, they arrived at his door. With a nod from the nurse, she entered.

 

Thane was lying in the bed, propped up a bit and speaking to Kolyat. They grasped each other hands briefly before Kolyat moved to stand at the foot on his bed. Elizabeth entered the room slowly, not wanting to disrupt any last moments between father and son.

 

“Siha,” Thane gasped, coughing a little. He breathing was labored, painful. She stood by his side, looking down on him. She felt his hand reaching for hers and she took it with practiced ease. All the things she thought to say seemed out of place, so she settled for leaning over and placing a firm kiss on his forehead.

 

“Siha,” he repeated. “I am dying.”

 

Whatever shred of control she’d had up until that point now left her. She broke down into full tears. Elizabeth hiccuped once as she brought a hand to her mouth, trying to keep herself from making any noises.

 

Thane attempted to calm her, running his thumb over her hand. “Siha, I made peace with my death long ago. Do not fear for me.”

 

She took a deep breath. “I just... I don’t know how I will...” she started crying again. “I’ll just miss you.” It sounded pathetic, even to her own ears.

 

“I will never be far from you,” he responded. Elizabeth leaned forward again, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against his, the tightness in her chest making it hard to breathe. “I will always love you. Remember that.”

 

“I know,” she answered, softly, her voice cracking. “I love you.”

 

“You have helped to make the end of my life full and hopeful. You gave me happiness in ways I did not think I would experience again. You gave me light and hope.” She listened to his voice as he spoke, felt the texture of his skin, the warmth of his hand, attempting to burn it into her brain as to not forget. She wanted to respond, but found her throat clogged with meanless statements.

 

She swallowed. “I will love you always, Thane, my knight-in-shining armor.” She laughed at her statement and felt his deep chuckle. “Don’t forget me.”

 

“I will always remember you.” He untangled his hand from hers and brought it to cup her face. “I will await you across the sea.” He dropped his hand and kissed her cheek for the last time, before leaning back against bed.

 

Elizabeth righted herself as she felt Kolyat come and stand next her, bowing his head and clasping his hands in prayer. “Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand--” Thane’s prayer was cut off, as he was beseeched by another coughing fit.

 

Kolyat spoke up. “Kalahira, wash the sins from this one, and set him on the distant shore of the infinite spirit.”

 

“Kolyat, you speak as the priests do,” Thane said. “You have been spending time with them.”

 

Kolyat turned to her, a book in his hand. “Elizabeth, I have brought the prayer book. Would you care to join me?”

 

She nodded, clearing her throat. She listened as Kolyat continued reading. “Kalahira, this one's heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention. _”_ He gestured for her to move closer. She looked over the book, finding where he left off.

 

“Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve,” she said, her voice thick. “Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me.”

 

She returned her gaze back to face Thane, watching as he turned away from them to look out the window of his hospital room. She waited with Kolyat for a long moment before he heard one raspy breath leave his body, but another was not drawn in. Then there was silence.

 

\----

 

Kim heard the click of the door as EDI worked her magic to get it unlocked. She ordered both the men to stand on either side of the door. Kim remained crouched as the door open. If it were C-Sec there was a high chance they would fire before looking. She couldn’t blame them for that. They were probably strung out on being attacked. Sure enough as soon as the door opened a wall of ill-placed shots were fired, but only for a second.

 

“You dumb sons of bitches, stop your firing.” Blessed day, Bailey was alive and in full spirit.

 

The firing stopped almost immediately allowing Kim to stand and enter. The room was filled with anywhere between twenty to thirty men. This made Kim happy, and all the more so when she saw Garrus’s own face light up. She moved towards Bailey who was leaning against the wall. He was alive, but not unwounded.

 

“Bailey, it is good to see you alive.”

 

“Same, I see you also took care of our Cerberus probably.”

 

“There may be a few more isolated groups throughout the Citadel.” Kim said offering Bailey support.

 

“You heard her, get out there and find those bastards.” The remaining C-Sec officers gathered their gear and headed out immediately. 

 

Kim and Garrus supported Bailey and the four of them traveled back to his office. Kim had suggested heading to Huerta but Bailey was having none of that. He needed to get back to his terminal and get things up and running again.

 

It was not long after they had gotten Bailey back to his office that they received an all clear from his men. The remaining cells of Cerberus had been found and taken care of and the Citadel was back under C-Sec control. Naturally now that the probably was taken care of, the council decided to rear its head.

 

“I just received a message from Councillor Anderson. You and your crew along with a Mrs Elizabeth Shepard have been asked to meet with them.” Bailey said as he read from his terminal.

 

“I am guessing this is mandatory.”

 

“Well Councillor Anderson ended it with, ‘Kim come without a fight, or so help me I will ground you to the most boring planet I can find.’”

 

She heard a small chuckle come from both Garrus and James.

 

“Not a goddamn word.” She said turning to face them. Both men threw up their hands defensively.

 

“I didn’t say anything Lola.” James said with a smile across his face.

 

“Uh-huh, well I will meet you two at the Citadel Tower. I will go after Kaidan and Lizzy.” With that she left the laughing men.

 

Kim took the trans to Huerta. Wishing she could change as walking into a hospital in full armor covered in blood generally wasn’t the best thing to do, but she needed to get Kaidan and Elizabeth herself, but more importantly she waited to see how Thane was doing. She was meet with the worst when the doors slide open. She saw her sister’s red and swollen eyes, Kim looked to Kaidan who hung his head. Her chest tighten as the pain of another fallen comrade laid on it. She would mourn him later for they still had work to do.

 

Elizabeth was standing by the windows in the waiting room, her arms crossed in front of her chest. In one hand, she held a tissue. Behind her Kaidan was still sitting, staring at her with pity, looking like he wanted to comfort her, but not knowing how.  Elizabeth turned when she heard the doors open and her eyes widen as she saw her sister enter. Her face was shiny with tears. Kaidan stood upon seeing the Commander and moved forward to meet her.

 

“Kaidan, Elizabeth, we are needed at the Citadel Tower.”

 

Kaidan gave a simple “yes commander,” before heading out.

 

“Why?” Elizabeth responded.

 

“I am not rightfully sure, but they are not known for their patience.”

 

Elizabeth paused for a second; she really didn’t want to deal with political red tape. All she really wanted to do was go home and take a nap.

 

“Elizabeth, you don’t have a choice in the matter.”

 

“Thane just died, I think whatever they have to say can wait till some other time.” Elizabeth spat out. She didn’t want to deal with this and she certainly didn’t want her sister ordering her around.

 

Kim approached her sister. She was in a tender spot right now but mourning and sympathies would have to wait. She wasn’t seeing the bigger picture.

 

“Elizabeth, pull your head together, a lot of people died today, but that doesn’t mean we stop what we are doing. Do you think I want to do this? I am doing it because I have to. Now come on, you can hate me later but right now we have work to do.”

 

Elizabeth wanted to argue but a look in her sister’s eye said that it would be useless. Instead she pushed by her sister without saying a word.

 

Kim, her crew and Elizabeth stood before the counsel waiting for whatever chewing out was to be given. Kim though for sure this was it. Her military career was over. James had the same look on his face. Kaidan had an equal bit of worry on his face while Garrus didn’t seem the least phased. Elizabeth began to see just how serious this was as she looked at the worried faces that stood beside her.

 

The Salarian Councilor was the first to speak.

 

“The five of you have been called forward because of the recent activities that have taken place here on the Citadel. Kaidan Alenko, as a Spectre you acted in your full rights with the exception of  bringing along Mrs Kimberly Shepard. No actions will be taken against you.”

 

“However,” Anderson interrupted, “Mrs Kimberly Shepard and Lieutenant James Vega acted outside the realms of Alliance. An act like that could get your demoted, or worse.”

 

His eyes landed on Kim, giving her a sinking feeling.

 

“This is not the case.” Anderson continued.

 

“Indeed,” spoke Councilor Quentius, “the five of you did what you thought was best for the Citadel, and if it wasn’t for the action of Mrs Elizabeth Shepard,” his gaze fell to her, “we might still be in trouble.”

 

“Which is why,” Anderson said with a smile, “Spectre status is being offered to her.”

 

“Spectre’s are more than just warriors,” exclaimed Councilor Irissa, “they are also thinkers. Mrs Elizabeth Shepard’s quick actions and bravery has earned her this title.”

 

Shock coursed through her. "But..." she began, stumbling over her words. "I'm a civilian! I don't fight or infiltrate anything! The only thing I'm good at is filing papers!"

 

“The Spectre’s need a person like you, Elizabeth,” spoke councilor Anderson. “You don’t need brains to pull a trigger.”

 

A collective ‘hey’ sounded from the remaining men.

 

“I meant no disrespect. I was a soldier once as well.” Anderson turned back to Elizabeth. “Do you accept our offer?”

 

She stared in shock at the councilors that were awaiting her answer. She wondered briefly if anyone without a military background had ever been offered the title of Spectre. She sighed and looked at the ground, attempting to collect her thoughts. She didn't want this, but then again, all she wanted at that moment was to curl up in bed and cry.

 

But the better question was, could she do this? Could she become a Spectre and defend the galaxy? Could she live with herself if she turned it down? She looked back up at the Councilors, feeling small. "Yes, I accept," she answered, her voice quiet.

 

Kim jaw droped. What the hell was going on? Her sister was not military. Hell her sister couldn’t hit the broadside of a Krogan and here they were offering her the rank of Spectre, a privilege Kim have been overlooked for. She looked over a Garrus who was giving her an equally surprised look.

 

“And Mrs Kimberly Shepard,” said Anderson, “although you disobeyed orders, stole an alliance vessel and used an AI to hack into Citadel Security, Admiral Hackett would like to reinstate you position as Commander of the Normandy.”

 

Garrus whispered to Kim, “Oh is that all? We’ll have to do better next time.”

 

“I am humbly honored.” Kim responded keeping her composure.

 

“Finally,” chimed in Councilor Irissa, “we ask the five of you to put together a team and put a stop to Cerberus. Files giving you a further debriefing will be sent to you by this afternoon. That is all, you are dismissed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I blatantly stole part of Thane's death from the game. I do not claim that as my own writing.


	3. Welcome Home

Elizabeth stood on the stage, feeling the press of light beaming down at her. Why had the council insisted on making this a formal occasion? Couldn’t they just have a private ceremony, give her the damn title, and let her go home?

 

She sighed. Of course not. She may not be the first human Spectre, but she would be the second and humanity needed all the good press they could get, especially after Cerberus’ attack. So, she stood there like a good little press release and smiled for the vids.

 

As the Salarian Councilor droned on about something or another, Elizabeth gazed at the audience, her eyes finally landing on her sister. She was bit surprised to see her here, considering the way Kim had rounded on her after their meeting with the Council. She knew that her sister was worried for her, and if Elizabeth was honest with herself, she was too.

 

She caught her sister’s eye and smiled a real smile for the first time during this whole ceremony. She watched as her sister returned it briefly before becoming bored again. Elizabeth attempted to suppress a giggle. Her sister did always hate ceremonies. She watched as Garrus leaned over and whispered something to her and the smirk that appeared on her face. Well, at least someone was having fun at her expense.

 

Behind her was Kaidan. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel his eyes on her back. She was pretty certain Kim was making faces at him from the crowd though. She wished she could turn around and see his expression, to see if he was as bored as she was.

 

“It because of the brave and selfless action of this young woman that we are standing here today.” Elizabeth felt herself jolted back to the speech. “Her bravery is a testament not only to humanity, but to us all, and vaillant example that not all are like Cerberus.”

 

Elizabeth wanted to scoff at them. She didn’t _do_ anything. She just made the call. Her sister and her crew did the all the rest. Right place, right time, and all that jazz. She wasn’t a hero. Certainly not the one they were making her out to be.

 

“It is with great honor that I present the title and privileges of Spectre to Elizabeth Shepard,” Anderson said to the room. Elizabeth moved forward to stand next to him. “Spectre’s cannot be trained. They are made through the choices they make and the natural skills they have.”

 

Anderson turned to face her. “You are now charged with maintaining balance and order throughout the galaxy. You hold the power of life and death over others. Act cautiously, but remember to act.” He pulled out the pin bearing the official Spectre seal and leaned over to pin it to her. She tried to stand still and appear dignified. She wondered if Thane would be proud of her.

 

Anderson stepped back as Kaidan moved forward and he shook her hand. “Congratulations,” he whispered. She smiled tightly at him before moving away and turning to face the crowd.

 

“Welcome to the Spectres, Ms. Elizabeth Shepard.”

* * *

 

 

Her hand was starting to hurt from all the hands she’d had to shake and she was pretty sure her face was stuck smiling.

 

“Congratulations,” a turian was saying, vigorously gripping her poor hand. “Only the second human Spectre. It must feel quite daunting, especially for someone with little military training.” Damn, she wanted to punch this man in the face.

 

“It’s a little overwhelming,” she answered through a tight smile. “But, as you said, I’m the second human Spectre. I’m sure Major Alenko will have some excellent advice.”

 

“Ah yes,” he responded, finally letting go of her hand. She resisted the urge to rub it. “He was the replacement for your sister, was he not?”

 

She was pretty sure turians couldn’t smirk, but she’d eat her own hand if this guy wasn’t bating her. She wondered briefly if the pain of hitting this guy was worth it or not.

 

“I believe Commander Shepard stepped down from the position,” a voice interrupted. “I was only their second choice.” _Oh thank the gods._ Kaidan walked up behind her, offering her a small smile. “Hello, Miss Shepard.”

 

Elizabeth nodded in response. “Now if you could please excuse us,” he said. “I’m fairly certain the Council is looking for us and we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

 

“Of course,” the turian mumbled as they turned and walked through the throng of people to the other side.

 

“Thanks for the rescue,” Elizabeth said quietly. “I was getting ready to punch him, but I don’t think starting a diplomatic incident on my first day is a good idea.”

 

“I figured as much,” he chuckled. “I’ve been around the commander long enough to know when she’s pissed. You have a similar expression.”

 

“Good to know bitchface runs in the family.” They crossed the room to find Kim and Garrus circling the h'orderves table.

 

“Garrus?” she questioned, holding something up to him on a toothpick. “What the hell is this? This isn’t food.”

 

“Of course it’s food, Shepard,” he answered.

 

She scowled down at it for a second before she saw Elizabeth and Kaidan approach. “Lizzy! There you are! What politician kidnapped you for so long? I had to send Kaidan to go and find you.”

 

“Well it was more than one,” she responded.

 

“I don’t know why you insist on talking to those assholes.”

 

“Those assholes are the ones I’m supposed to be protecting,” Elizabeth answered.

 

Kim scoffed and waved the strange food around in front of her before munching on it. “Details, details.” She chewed for a second. “I could eat an entire planet. I’m _starving._ ”

 

“Well, then maybe we should get you away from the dextro table.” Elizabeth grabbed her shoulders and steered her towards the table on the opposite wall.

 

“Oh, that would explain why all those foods smelled weird.”

 

“Nice to know you’re still using those heighten senses of yours.”

 

“It’s all these stupid fucking implants,” she complained. “I’m hungry _all the time_.” She grabbed a plate from the table and began loading it down with food. “Look Lizzy! _Cheese._ And not that Turian shit, either. _”_

 

“Why do I put up with you?” Garrus asked from behind her.

 

Kim paused for a moment, considering her response. “All the things that just ran through my mind...”

 

“Please don’t say them,” Elizabeth monotoned from behind her. “I don’t need to know... really _any_ of that.”

 

“Perhaps we should go ahead and head back to the Normandy, commander?” Kaidan, who had had be quiet up until this point, finally spoke.

 

“But I’m not done with my food yet,” she whined through a mouthful of cheese.

 

“I still have something to do before we go,” her sister said. “So take your time and I’ll meet you in the docking bay.”

 

“Lizzy! You can’t leave yet. I haven’t started telling the embarrassing baby stories yet!”

 

“It’s probably best if I’m not around for those anyway,” she said, chagrined. Waving shortly, she turned and made her way towards the exit.

 

She heard her sister moan behind her. “But the point is that you are here! _I need to see your embarrassed face!_ ” Elizabeth just ignored her, shaking her head.

 

She walked to the Citadel Tower elevator and headed down to Praesidium. Once there, she walked a little ways, to the railing, and stared over the at the water. Leaning heavily on the bar, she couldn’t help but notice all the damage Cerberus had done.

 

The Citadel had been her home for a long time now. She had been here to witness the rebuilding after the attack by Sovereign. No doubt they would rebuild again but... once destroyed nothing could be completely repair again.

 

She slumped over, sitting on the floor next to the barrier, head pressed against it. It was cold, chilling her heated face. It had been hard to stand in that room, smiling and nodding politely as many of them offered her false congratulations.

 

Because of them, she was going to miss Thane’s funeral. The council had charged them with beginning their search immediately upon Elizabeth gaining her Spectre status. She had tried to reason with them, allow her to have a few more days, but the attack had frightened many and they needed to be calmed. Having her sent out would look good for them, so she was sent.

 

Her mourning would have to wait until the dark hours of the night while she was curled up in bed; when no one could see the new, brave Spectre at her weakest.

 

“You said you’d be here, Thane,” she whispered into the dark. “But I can’t feel you.”

 

She sat in silence for a minute, listening to the soft sounds of water in the distance. “I... I don’t know if this is right. It doesn’t feel that way.” She felt ridiculous. Perhaps she was ridiculous.

 

“If... if you can hear me,” she whispered, trailing off before sighing. Closing her eyes, she sighed, before lifting herself from the ground. This wasn’t helping anyone, least of all herself. Besides, she had to get to the Docking Bay soon. She just hoped Kim hadn’t sent a search party yet.

* * *

 

 

The Normandy SR2, rebuilt by Cerberus and repainted by the Alliance. Kim hadn’t gotten much time to look around when they were preparing to arrive at the Citadel. Although she had noticed the Armory’s location had changed. She wondered what was in its old place now. She hoped nothing, that was Elizabeth would have a place to set up, maybe even add her private quarters to it.

 

Fuck, she never imagined her sister being on board with her. She never wanted that for her. Yes, Lizzy was a Biotic, but not a military trained one. What was the Council thinking, or better, what the hell were they up to? Kim didn’t buy their little speech. There had to be another reason and she would find it out one way or another.

 

Kim waited on the docking bay. Joker, James, Cortez and Kaidan were already on board waiting in the old communication room that Cerberus had installed. She imagined Alliance gutted it and added their own influence to it. She couldn’t blame them; all that white and yellow was repulsive.

 

She heard the elevator open and watched as Elizabeth stepped out. She was carrying a couple of overnight bags. Kim made a note on her omnitool as a reminder to get a room set up for Lizzy.

 

“You ready?” Kim said leading Elizabeth on board.

 

“I guess.” Elizabeth said. Her voice was monotone and numb. Kim couldn’t blame her. It was a lot to deal with in one day.

 

Kim lead Elizabeth on board. “This is the CIC, basically the navigation board and where I am supposed to stand and give order.” Kim moved through the old armory, just as she expected gutted.

 

“This will be your office and main living quarters.”

 

“I think living quarters is a bit of an overstatement.” Elizabeth said as she scanned the cold bare room.

 

“EDI,” Kim called out.

 

“Yes Shepard.”

 

Elizabeth looked around trying to locate the sound of the voice.

 

“Lizzy this is EDI the ships, um, AI.”

 

“I was unaware the Alliance allowed AI’s on their vessels.”

 

“Well, they don’t actually, she was installed by Cerberus. Anyways EDI, after the meeting with the crew do you mind making arrangements with Elizabeth here. All funds from Alliance opened to her.” Kim turned to her sister. “You’re gonna be here a lot, so make the room comfortable, livable, and to your liking. If anyone bitches about it, forward them to me.”

 

Elizabeth thanked her before being led into a small hallway with a door to the opposite of her room and one in the middle. They entered the one in the middle to find the crew waiting. Kim was surprised to see yet another new face.

 

“Specialist Samantha Traynor at your service,” said the new face in full attention and salute.

 

“Specialist Traynor?”

 

“Yes ma’am I am your new comm specialist.”

 

“Well it is a pleasure to have you aboard. Also please don’t call me ma’am.”

 

“Yes ma…commander.”

 

Kim turned to her crew all awaiting her orders.

 

“The Council and Alliance has given us a job. To figure out what the Illusive man is up to and put a stop to it. That can be done but we will need to build back up the team. I know many who are still loyal and would come to our aid if needed. We will need to pull our resources to get them back on board.”

 

She turned to Kaidan, “Kaidan, I would like you to use your Spectre status to bring Gabby Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly back on board to work in the engine room.”

 

“You can’t be serious,” Kaidan scoffed. “They are Cerberus.”

 

“They were Cerberus, Kaidan. They aren’t anymore. Plus, they are loyal to me and we could use them.”

 

“And what if they turn on us?”

 

“Then you can do the ‘I told you so dance’, but trust me that won’t happen.”

 

Kaidan sighed heavily. “Fine.”

 

“EDI, contact Dr. Chakwas. She is working at Huerta Memorial Hospital on the Citadel. Tell her she is needed back on the Normandy.”

 

“Of course Commander.”

 

“Now,” Kim said turning to her sister, “there is the matter of you. Elizabeth you were not trained by Alliance or any military outpost yet you are being asked to perform military tasks. However you are not ready for field combat, because of this I want you to train. Hand-to-hand with James, Biotics with Kaidan and target practice with Garrus. When they have come to me saying that you are combat ready, then I will allow you on the field. Until then, you stay on the Normandy.”

 

“You can’t be serious. You can’t lock me up in here.” Elizabeth retorted.

 

“One, yes I can, and two, shut up. You're sounding like Kaidan,” Kim said firmly. “We are going to stay on shore leave until Elizabeth can set up her work area. Dismissed.

* * *

 

Elizabeth watched as her sister stalked out of the communications room. She wanted to follow and debate her permanent lockdown, but she was tired and didn’t have the energy. Beside, some training probably wasn’t a bad idea.

 

“Hey Lolita!” She turned to see the large, tattooed man, approach her. Vega? Was that his name? Damn it, these people needed nametags.

 

“Yes?” she answered, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Looking forward to hand-to-hand?” he asked, leaning against the wall next to her. “I’ll have you know I’m one of the best.”

 

“Good thing you’re my teacher then, huh?”

 

“Yep. By the way, if you ever need a, uh, different sort of hand-to-hand, let me know.” He had leaned in close, whispering conspiratorially to her.

 

“I’ll... uh,” she stammered over her words. “Keep that in mind?”

 

He smirked down at her, a small chuckle escaping him. “You do that, Lolitia.” And with that he turned to leave the room.

 

She stared after him for a second, blinking slowly. “Don’t mind him. He flirts with everyone.”

 

“Even my sister?” Elizabeth questioned, her gazing landing on Kaidan.

 

“Especially your sister,” he confirmed. “Vega’s a good guy though, and he’s right: he’s one of the best.”

 

“Well, it’s good to know I’ll be having my ass handed to me by someone good,” she said. “It’s far less embarrassing that way.”

 

Kaidan chuckled for a moment before turning serious. “We all mean well, you know, and we want to help. Don’t let your sister’s attitude turn you off.”

 

“I know,” she said quietly.

 

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. None of us want to see you fail.” Elizabeth nodded, but didn’t say anything. “I’ll be down on the crew deck, should you want to find me.”

 

“Thanks, Kaidan.” He nodded and then left. With him gone, she was the only one left. She trailed out behind him, turning towards what was the old armory.

 

Having been completely gutted, it was hers for the remaking. If this was where we was to be staying, then the first thing she was getting was a bed. There was no way in hell she was sleeping on the ground, everything else could be damned.

 

“Um, EDI?” she spoke to the empty room, feeling a bit silly to be talking to thin air.

 

“Yes, Miss Shepard?” Okay, that was freaky. Well, at least she was a prompt AI.

 

“I wondering about getting started on outfitting my room and I was told you could help with that.”

 

“Of course. The Commander has allocated funds for the furnishing of your quarters,” the disembodied voice answered. “Where would you like to begin?”

 

“A Bed,” she said. “A nice, soft, very large bed.”

 

“Right away, Miss Shepard.” There was silence from the other end for a moment before she continued. “There should be a delivery within the hour. What else do you require?”

 

Well this may end up being easier than she hoped. “Erm, a desk and terminal would probably be good things to have. A chair for the desk - actually make that a couple of chairs..."

 

* * *

 

Kim left the Normandy after the meeting. She needed to run an errand, and it would take Elizabeth a few hours to acquire everything she needed anyways. Kim was heading to an engravers shop on the Presidium. In her hand she carried a flat, thin rectangle of metal that she had pried off the wall. She handed the piece to the man along with a slip of paper once she arrived at the shop. Kim leaned against the counter as the man engraved. She wondered how many more times she would have to do this, and for whom. Her throat tighten at the thought of losing any more of her crew. They were her family. Every person she had served with was important to her, differences aside. 

 

It took the man a total of thirty minutes to engrave the piece for her. Their transaction was silent. She imagined this wasn’t his first name like this. The store was nice and probably meant to engagement rings and happy memories, not for fallen comrades. Fucking reapers, fucking Cerberus. They all were going to pay.

 

Upon re-entering to Normandy Kim could hear the banter between Joker and EDI.

 

“I am telling you EDI, Wash could wipe the floor with Hikaru Sulu.”

 

“That is not what my findings on the extranet are saying Jeff.”

 

“EDI, you can’t trust everything the extranet says, come on you’re a smart girl.”

 

Kim chuckled as she walked away, she wasn’t going to touch that argument with a ten foot pole. She walked pass the CIC where Traynor was working. Kim wondered what had happened to Kelly. Probably still working for Cerberus. She was fairly devoted to them. Although with how Cerberus was behaving now, she might have just went into hiding. Kim couldn’t blame her. Behind the CIC was the elevator. The Alliance moved it around a bit. Now every time you to leave via the CIC entrance you were greeted with a memorial wall of all those who died when the collectors attacked, as well as Ashley Williams.

 

“EDI, can you tell my sister to meet me in front of the elevator?”

 

“Of course, Commander.”

 

It was only a minute or so before Elizabeth turned to corner, “you wanted to see me...?” Elizabeth’s voice trailed off when she saw the wall.

 

“I wanted you to be here for this.” Kim said standing straight and firm. Her voice hollow, as if it she was not phased. This was not the case, it was just the way she liked it. Kim took the plate she held and placed it back in its place. The once empty plate now read THANE KRIOS.

 

“I want you to understand something. If I am rude, mean, or a bitch, it is because I love you,” she could hear her own voice waver. Kim kept looking forward, she know she would break if she saw that Elizabeth was crying. “I don’t want to stand here holding your name. Honestly I don’t want to place anyone else name on here ever again.” Kim’s gaze fell on Ashley’s name and a pang of guilt ran through her. “That is all I wanted to tell you.” Kim turned and entered the elevator, tears already developing in her eyes. She needed to be alone.

 

Elizabeth watched in silence as she placed the placard on the wall. It was placed with little ceremony, beyond respecting her sister's relationship with Thane. But Elizabeth didn't make the mistake of thinking she didn't care. Her sister was never one for ceremonies - best get it over with and move on.

 

She wanted to reassure her sister that she wouldn't have to put to her name one the wall. Besides, Elizabeth was just as likely to have to do the same. But she didn't have the energy to argue with her, and just nodded as she turned to leave.

 

Kim sat at her desk watching Mr Sniffles, the hamster Garrus had gotten her, run on his wheel. It was a mindless task but relaxing.

 

“I am surprised you are alive Mr Sniffles, seeing as I have killed all my other pets,” Kim sighed as she looked over at the aquarium.

 

When she grew bored of watching him run, Kim placed the cage back on it’s shelf. Her room was almost exactly the way she remembered it. There was an added extension for her model ships, and some of the furniture was slightly changed but the layout still the same. This comforted her more then anything. It was good to know that no matter what fucked up thing happened in the universe, her ship was still her ship.

 

Kim was started by a rapid knock outside the door. “It’s open,” she yelled and waited for her visitor to enter.

 

“How are you settling back in?” It was the gruff voice of Garrus. EDI probably told him she was upset. Damn AI, couldn’t hide anything from her.

 

“Alright I guess.” She said defensively. She was standing in front of the hamster again arms crossed.

 

Garrus sighed. Getting Kim to open up was like pulling teeth. He couldn’t blame her, he wasn’t exactly the best at it himself. Instead he stood next to her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to his side.

 

“Do you think I am too hard on her?”

 

“Not in the slightest.”

 

Kim could help but smile a little at that. Of course he wouldn’t think so.

 

“What I mean is, she lost Thane. I can't help but imagine if I was in her shoes and I lost you..”

 

“Well if you had lost me I would expect you to be halfway to the Illusive Man with a rocket launcher strapped to your back.”

 

Kim chuckled, “you always know what to say to cheer a girl up.”

 

“Well I am archangel.”

 

Kim rolled her eyes and she raised herself up to kiss Garrus on one of his mandibles.

 

“Shepard I hate to interrupt.”

 

“Go ahead EDI.”

 

“Admiral Hackett has sent you an urgent message to your terminal.”

 

“Thanks EDI,” Kim said as she headed over to her terminal. She read through the message quickly before contacting EDI again, “EDI announce to the crew that we are about to head out and tell Joker to plot a course for Mars.”


	4. Bringer of War

“Lieutenant Vega,” Elizabeth started, gritting her words through her teeth. “Is all this... padding really necessary?”

“Of course it is, Lolita,” Vega said, swaggering next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t want damage that pretty little face. Also, the commander might kill me if I hurt you.”

“Looking out for your own ass, I see.” Elizabeth was not happy with this arrangement. She knew these lessons were important, but was decking her out in complete set of padding something that absolutely have to be done?

“You bet,” he answered. “My ass has a reputation. I need to keep it in one piece.”

“Uh huh.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes before shuffling forward to the makeshift ring that had been set up in the middle of the cargo hold. When her sister had insisted that she start training, she hadn’t thought it would have been the very next day.

So, while the team was out on Mars, picking up some doctor or another, Elizabeth was stuck here, with James, learning how to hit people. She would have thought weapons or biotics training was more important. But, training is training, and at least she hoped she would start to feel a little more useful.

And hey, it was better than the mountain of paperwork there was to do.

“Alright, Lolita,” James said. “Let’s go over the basics.”

She nodded and followed him through the motions, attempting to take in as much information as she could. As they moved on to actually practicing, she wondered again why she was decked out in all this protective padding if James wasn’t going to hit her.

His smirks every now and then clued her in. He had put her in this ridiculous get up to laugh at her. Just wonderful. She could probably bet that pilot was taping it too...

“Hey Lolita! Concentrate!”

She could probably concentrate better if she didn’t look like a bloated cow. Instead of relaying this to Vega, however, she asked instead, “Why do you call me Lolita?”

“Cause you’re Lola’s little sister,” he explained shrugging. “So, Lolita - little Lola.”

“Wow, James,” she monotoned. “You sure know how to make a girl feel special. Thanks for the creativity. I appreciate it.”

“You’re avoiding,” he said, moving his arms up to block.

“If there’s one thing I’m very good at,” she responded, grunting as she practiced. “It’s avoiding things.”

James raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything in response. The continued her training in companionable silence, with only her grunts and his coaching breaking through. Despite her obvious lack of talent in the realm of hand-to-hand, she had to admit she found James a comforting presence.

“You’re doing well Lolita,” Vega called to her. “Keep it up.”

“Are you just saying that because I’m completely terrible?” Elizabeth questioned, panting a little.

“Yeah... kinda,” he admitted. “But no one’s great when they start. You’ll get there.”

For all his flirty personality and practical jokes, Vega was a good guy. He was crazy, like the rest of her sister’s crew, but still had a good heart. He was taking her bad attitude and incompetence in stride, only offering positive feedback and jokes. It was... nice. She had been afraid everyone would look at her as a ticking time bomb, waiting for her to break down any second. Vega’s jokes were a good source of therapy for her.

Now, if only she could get him to stop calling her Lolita.

“Alright, alright,” Vega said, breaking into her thoughts. “That’s enough for right now - take a break.”

Elizabeth nodded, slumping down to the floor, laying spread eagle. She was going to be really sore later.

She heard Vega laugh at her before walking away to mess with his guns. “Nice to see you sleeping on the job.

“I’m not sleeping, I’m resting,” she called.

“Looks like sleeping to me.”

She just stuck out her tongue at him. “If I was sleeping, you’d know. Apparently, I snore quite loudly.”

“So unladylike.” Now he was really teasing her.

“I never claimed to a lady, Lieutenant,” she responding, closing her eyes. He snickered, but didn’t say anything. They sat in companionable silence before she heard Vega spoke again, this time to his omnitool.

“Yes, commander?”

Elizabeth sat up, furrowing her brows. Her sister was in the middle of a mission, if she remembered the yelling she heard this morning. Was it normal to talk to crew members on the ship? Maybe Kim just needed information?

Standing, Elizabeth walked closer to Vega, attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Wait commander I - yes ma’am. I’m coming.” There was a note of panic in his voice, replacing the easy teasing tone he’d held earlier. He turned quickly, almost bumping into Elizabeth. He rushed past her.

Watching him for a moment, she finally asked,” What’s going on?”

Vega was in the middle of strapping on his armor. “Something... went wrong. I’m sure sure...” he trailed off, looking at her with sad eyes.

“What do you mean ‘something went wrong?’”

“I don’t know,” he answered plainly. Her face was skeptical. “Really. I won’t know until I get there.”

“Okay,” she whispered, watching he began to strap his assault rifle to his back. Was this what being a soldier was about: the waiting and the brief moments of joking only to be interrupted by life or death situations?

“You may want to get back,” Vega called. “I’m going to be taking the shuttle.”

She nodded, moving towards the back of the cargo hold, towards the elevator. She opened the door, pausing a moment. Turning, she called back to him, “Be careful!”

Vega smiled back, before giving her a friendly salute. After that, the elevator closed.

* * *

  
“The building should be just ahead.” Liara though muffled due to her breathing mask was still audible to Kim who was just a few feet ahead of her.

“Looks open.” Kim head Garrus say over her mic.

“Odd, it doesn’t look forced.” Kaidan said as they approached.

Just inside they could see the bodies of some of the human civilians that worked in the archives. Some lay outstretched towards the door. Other with their hand clasped around their neck. There was no blood or wounds. So the only other option was someone had vented the room. These poor people suffocated to death. Cerberus no longer cared for humanity. Whatever they were after, they were in it for themselves.

“The controls should be right over there.” Liara whispered, “but be careful.” She pointed to a half dozen Cerberus operative just behind the glass. She could feel her blood boil. These assholes were going to pay for everything they did.

Kim gave the signal and her and Garrus moved forward weapons trained on the glass. A simultaneous pull of the trigger from them broke the glass, followed by a Biotic Throw from Kaidan and a shockwave of Biotic energy from Liara. This through the Cerberus soldiers off their feet. The four moved in killing the knocked over men with minimal damage to their shields. It was scary how good they worked together, even after a significant time away from Kaidan and Liara.

Just beyond the now broken window laid the control panel. Liara made quick work of pressurizing the room, allowing them to take off their helmets.  
  
“There we go. Now we have access to the labs, which will take us right to the tram station.”

“Hey Commander look at this.”

Kim’s attention was taken from Liara and drawn to the screen Kaidan was looking at. Kim clicked to play the vid. It was a recording of one the workers talking about the lock down. The group watched as Doctor Eva Core walked into the screen and killed the men in the room, before she over road the commands and vented the air from the room. Now they knew who their Cerberus insider was. Now where was she.

“I should have known.” Liara muttered, her head hung low. “I am sorry Shepard I was distracted.”

“Hey Liara, don’t blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done. You were busy trying to put an end to this war.” Kim rested an hand gently on Liara shoulder.

“Yes, I guess you are right. Come on the Tran station is just over there through the labs.”

Liara led the way. There was minimal Cerberus interference as the moved to the labs.The only resistance they ran into was one of the labs had been forced into emergence decontaminations.

“What does that mean Liara.”

“It means that a lacer like wall swiped through the room, burning away any decontaminates.”

Kim watched as Garrus mandibles flared. “So your telling me Cerberus not only suffocated, and shot people, but they also burned them live.”

Liara answer was a simple yes, which caused Garrus to check his thermal clips. Good to see he was just as pissed as she was.

Liara shut down the decontamination allowing them to enter the room. Kim wrinkled her nose as the scent of burned flesh seared it. She could feel her eyes beginning to water the stench was so overpowering. They were lucking the tram station was just on the other side of the room.

As they approached the console they heard Doctor Core over the coms. She told the remaining troops not to allow anyone across the the tram and to keep it shut down.

“Well this makes things a bit more difficult.” Garrus muttered.

“I thought that was the way you liked it.” Kim said with a wink, over her shoulder she heard Liara giggle, something the woman seldom did now.

“Any ideas?” Kim asked the crew.

“I’ve got one,” Kim nodded to Kaidan to continue, “we could trick them. Use a com from one of the dead men and pretend to be a group.”

“Awesome idea, Garrus stay with Liara while Kaidan and I search for a com.”

They only had to retrace their steps a few paces before they found a dead Cerberus. Kaidan knelt down and began to fiddle with the helmet while Kim kept guard. She jump and swung around towards Kaidan when she heard a small start come from him, her weapon out and ready. She was about to speak when she saw exactly what had startled Kaidan. Underneath the helmet laid the distinct face of a husk. The blue electronic like lines zig-zagging from his eyes and across his face. His eyes the mechanical blue stare Kim had grown all to accustom too. But this didn’t make since. Husk were mindless, killing machines. These men could talk, comprehend, communicate. Was Cerberus experimenting on its own men.

Kim was startled again when Kaidan nearly growled at her, “did you know about this?”

“What?”

“Did you know about this?” Kaidan repeated pointing this time at the face

“Hell no, why the hell would you think I would know anything about this?”

“You worked for them, didn’t you.”

“I didn’t work for them Kaidan. It was a one time thing, we needed them to take down the Collectors.”

“Are you sure about that Kim?”

“What the hell are you trying to say?” Kim could feel herself getting angry. This was bullshit. “How many times am I gonna have to defend myself to you.”

“I don’t know Kim, till a believe it is you.”

“It is me!” She screamed that part. She was real. This was her. She wasn’t a monster!

“You keep saying that but what if Cerberus did this to you.”

“Fucking hell Kaidan do I look like that. You know I am getting real tired of you hold how much better you are over my head. Like because you stayed ‘loyal’ you have the right to treat me like shit. I did what I had to do!”

“Does that include Garrus.” It was a low blow and Kaidan knew it. He felt the pang of guilt as the words left his mouth.

“Fuck you! Garrus was there when I needed him. He did not leave my side.”

“Kim I didn’t…”

“Not another fucking word, after this mission you better find yourself another ship.”

Kim ripped the com from the helmet and stomped away. Garrus met her with a look. Apparently they had heard some of that. Kim didn’t say a word to him. Just shrugged him off. They had plans they needed to find and she was not letting this stop her. She clicked on the device and spoke into to the Cerberus troops across the way.

“Hey, we are needing pick up on this end.”

There was silence for a moment, then one of the men picked up.

“What about Shepard.”

“Oh we got her.”

“Alright. Sending a tram your way.”

The four of them stood in awkward silence as they waited from the tram. Kaidan and Kim stood at opposite ends when they boarded the tram. Liara and Garrus gave each other worried looks. Off the tram Liara led them to the main archive area. Kim didn’t know what to expect, so she was a bit shocked to see another Prothean device. She gave orders to Garrus and Kaidan to circle the room. Liara and Kim approached the area. If they were luck they would be the first ones there.

Not a second after entering the room Kim heard an annoyingly familiar voice call to her.

“Shepard.”

Kin turned to face a holo of the Illusive Man. Figures he wouldn’t have the balls to show up and do it himself.

“Illusive Man.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Shepard you will never understand what I am doing, but trust me it is for the good of humanity.”

“Really, because killing a bunch of innocent people seems like the opposite doing good for humanity.”

“This is war Shepard, there are casualties. Anyways, as I was saying you will never understand. Fine, but do not interfere with me.”

“Please you are the last…” Kim was cut off by Liara.

“Shepard something isn’t right here.”

Kim turned from the Illusive Man and headed towards Liara, “What is it?”

“Its missing. All of it.”

Kim growled in frustration and turned back to the Illusive Man, but he was already gone. Son of a bitch, she thought, he was distracting her. She was about to give orders when she heard Garrus.

“There she is.”

“Vakarian where are you now?”

“Following her to the stairs. I think she is heading to the roof Shepard.” He replied, “damn she is fast.”

“Everyone, to Vakarian,” Kim yelled into her communication device before heading in that direction as well.

It was not long before the team was regrouped and running after Doctor Core. There was something off about her. She moved unlike anything Kim had ever seen. Even Miranda with all her genetic tailoring did not move like this.

Garrus had been right, Doctor Core was heading to the roof, probably with the data for the device. They needed to apprehend her. There was no way Kim was letting the Illusive Man have that information.

Once out of the roof Kim saw Core running towards a shuttle. All for members released shots and biotic energies in her direction but she seemed to shrug them off. That couldn’t be right.

They kept firing but it was no use, Core made it to the shuttle. Kim was about to call for Steve when she heard the sounds of the shuttle approaching.

“Don’t worry commander, I got this.” It was James. He was driving the shuttle and directly at Core’s.

Kim yelled to get out of the way as she grabbed her nearest team mates and drug them back as quickly as she good. James made quick work of ramming his shuttle into Core’s, causing both to crash back down on the roof.

There was a moment of confusion as vision was distorted and ears rang. She felt the familiar 3 finger hand of Garrus lift her off her feet. He held her upright till the dizziness from vertigo wore off.

“Is everyone alright.” She head Liara yes and Kaidan’s ‘what the hell.’ Good, they were alright. Turning to James shuttle she hobbled, leaning of Garrus.

“His stupid ass better be okay.” She whispered to Garrus.

Sure enough he was fine. Kicking open the shuttle door and exiting with a smile on his face. He was so damn pleased with himself.

“Vega what the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten us killed.”

“Hey I was trying to help commander.”

“Well the next time you try to help warn me!”

“Aye aye commander.”

“Call Cortez and tell,”

“Ah shit.” Kaidan screamed.

Kim tore away from Garrus and ran to the screaming and gunfire. Liara had her weapon trained on Doctor Core, who Kim thought had died in the crash. Although upon seeing her she realized why she hadn’t and why she seemed off. Core was a AI. Perfect, Cerberus build another AI.

Kaidan was also trying to shoot at Core, however he was much to close. Kim’s heart sank when she saw Core grab Kaidan by the face mask and toss him around like a rag doll.

“Let go of him!” Kim shouted as she ran at Core firing. Core tossed the now lifeless Kaidan side and ran at Kim.

Kim along with James, Garrus, and Liara continued to fire. Core was weakened but not enough to go down. This was bad. They needed to take her down. So Kim made a risky move. Pulling back her left arm as she approached Core she readied her omni sword. Hopefully this would be enough to take down the AI. As soon as Kim was within arms reach Kim lunged forward pushing the omni sword into the AI, causing it to seize up and collapse. She had gotten lucky.

“Vega grab this thing and get to the shuttle.” Kim shouted as she rushed to Kaidan. Hoisting him on her shoulders she followed after.

* * *

Elizabeth was sitting in the mess, holding her datapad in her hands. She was attempting to do some of that paperwork she had be avoiding earlier, but her mind wasn’t focusing on it. Her thoughts kept wandering to the mission on Mars. What was happening down there?

She dropped the datapad and stood up, beginning to pace. It was frustrating being confined to the ship. She knew she needed training and she tried not to begrudge her sister too much for it. What had the council been thinking, anyway, making her - a civilian - a Spectre? They had claimed it wasn’t all about combat, but it seemed like it was from where she was standing.

She was intelligence, information. Knowing who, what, when, and why about anyone who could be considered worth watching by the Alliance. That’s what she had been contracted to do. Spectre’s made an entrance, made noise. She wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with that. More importantly, she wasn’t sure how comfortable she was being a political pawn, which what this entire Spectre affair smelled of.

She slumped back into her seat, burying her face in her hands. Why was she still fighting with herself about it? It was done and she couldn’t really give it back, now could she? And besides, there were obviously more important things at hand. She hoped there would be word from the ground team soon, and in the meantime there was always paperwork.

She starting flipping through her screens, attempting to find the least boring one and made herself comfortable by stretching out over several chairs. It was obvious her sister was a great leader, but she was terrible about keeping up with reports. She hoped, vainly perhaps, that she wouldn’t end up doing it. Perhaps they would ask EDI? Elizabeth was sure she’d have no problems with it. Later, she decided.

Elizabeth continued to flip through the datapad, when she heard a commotion coming from the elevator. Standing, she moved to peer around the divider.

“Oh my god.” It came out as a breathy whisper, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. She could barely process her sister lugging Kaidan over her shoulder, yelling orders. Behind her stood Garrus and an asari, as well as James, who was carrying something as well. Elizabeth stepped back in shock, allowing them to pass by her into the Medical Bay.

She resisted the urge to pester them with questions, but followed after them into the Medbay. She hovered behind them, watching as Kim laid Kaidan on one of beds. She gasped, seeing how brusied he was. He was barely breathing. Unconciously, Elizabeth brought a hand to her mouth.

The asari walked to the other side of the bed, staring at her sister with intensity. Kim, for her part, was just staring down at Kaidan. After a moment, the asari spoke. "Kaidan needs medical attention." Kim didn't respond.

She leaned furthur down. "We need to leave the Sol System."

"I know," Kim finally responded.

"The Citadel is our best chance. We can find help there."

There was a moment of silence before. "Get us to the Citadel, Joker."

Kim continued to stare down at Kaidan. Elizabeth couldn't see her face, but she was pretty sure she didn't want to. Elizabeth also knew better than to try and confort her, especially considering Kim would just probably order her out anyway.

She watched as he sister's head turned toward the thing James had brought in. Looking at the asari she said, "See what you and EDI can learn from that thing." The asari nodded and moved away.

At this point Elizabeth realized that there wasn't much she could do. Deciding to exit quietly, she turned back towards the doors, briefly glancing back at Kaidan. This mission wasn't starting out well. Hopefully it wasn't an omen of things to come.


End file.
